Phillies Trade Closer

By The Associated Press

Dec. 13, 2015

The Phillies completed a seven-player deal sending closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros, with the former No. 1 overall draft pick Mark Appel heading to Philadelphia. The trade was agreed to at the winter meetings.

Shortstop Jonathan Arauz also went to the Astros, and the right-handed pitchers Vincent Velasquez, Thomas Eshelman and Harold Arauz were sent to the Phillies, along with the left-hander Brett Oberholtzer.

Giles, 25, took over as the Phillies’ closer after the trade of Jonathan Papelbon to Washington over the summer.

In a separate deal, the Phillies acquired the right-hander Charlie Morton from the Pirates in exchange for the minor league pitcher David Whitehead.

■ The free-agent pitcher Yusmeiro Petit agreed to a contract with the Washington Nationals, pending a physical.

■ The Baltimore Orioles rescinded a contract proposal to their free-agent slugger Chris Davis that was believed to be in the vicinity of $150 million. “At some point we’re going to have to look at some other options,” said Dan Duquette, the Orioles’ executive vice president for baseball operations. Davis led the majors with 47 home runs in 2015. (AP)